Team members :
Celena Liau
Faridah
Evelyn Wong
Tay Hui Min
MinJeong

27 November 2010 @ 5:09 PM

Fatal stabbing at Downtown East

In 2010, 30 October, while people are celebrating Halloween, a staring incident happened in Downtown East which ended in a fatal attack on a Year 2 Republic Polytechnic student, Darren Ng. 4 were arrested 48 hours after the incident and charged with murder, age between 18 and 21 years old. Youth gang involvement is no longer a new phenomenon in Singapore. Gangs have been known to exist in Singapore since the early of 1970s. Few decades ago, gangs like "Sah Lak Kau", "303" gang, "Omega" gang and the "18 SYH" were well known in Singapore. Gangs are a violent reality that people have to deal with in today's cities. What has made these groups come about? Why do kids feel that being in a gang is both an acceptable and prestigious way to live? I believe that it cannot be explain by a few sentences nor it can be completely resolved by solutions. However, there are few ways we can do minimize the growth of gang involvement.

Everything happens for a reason. Before we resolved the problem, we must figure out what it the reasons that contributed to youth gang involvement. There are a few reasons for youth involved in gang violence. One of it is youth are searching for love which they could not find in their family. Many teens do not join gangs because their friends do. Instead they join gangs in replacement for a family because they feel that gangs give them the support and love of a "real family". Also, it might be due to a family tradition that leads them to join gang. For instance, when a father himself involved in gang activities and is not able to provide a stable environment for his family, the child might follow the father's trail that leads to gang involvement.

"The best place to begin is at the beginning of a child's life. Parents play an essential role in their children life. They might often feel that putting food on the table is enough love. Children of these families may often go to the gang due boredom and to achieve the sense of belonging. A better parental control is a key for gang prevention. Parents have the power to influence their children to be on the right track in their future. Parents have the responsibility for guiding them to the right track by having conversation like alcohol consumption, drug abuse, gang involvement with them will more or less helps them to understand the risks and the consequences of getting involved in such issue. Parents should understand that one of the main reasons youth choose to join gangs is because it offers them a sense of belonging and commitment. The family is essential to the development of the child's social, emotional and physical needs. If the family is the source of love, guidance, and protection that youths seek, they are not forced to search for these basic needs from a gang.

In my opinion, recreational program such as sports, music, drama, and community activities help build a sense of self-worth and self-respect in young people. Youth are able to spend their free time wisely and meaningfully and their less likely to seek a membership in a gang which hang around at the shopping mall or void deck of HDB flats. Through joining those activities allow teens to express their feeling in a right way as well as learning skills for their sake. Also, school should organize conflict resolution campaign regularly in order to teach their students how to deal better with conflicts and help eliminate gang intimidation tactics.

Gang members need to realize that gangs only bring a wasted future and certainly are no solution. Gang prevention should deal with the individual involved in order for them to have hope for a better life.

By Hui Min

Labels: Downtown East gang fight

@ 1:07 AM

Can Youth Crimes be prevented?

According to the Singapore police force statistic, Youth crime in Singapore has seen a general decrease over the years through various police enforcement and preventive actions. However the recent youth gang fight of fatal stabbing at Downtown East which is a very serious case since life at stake is involved unlike other youth crime of theft, steal or rob. This shows that the police preventing measure might not be effective and I would suggest police and government to come out with effective and efficiency measures to prevent more of such incidents from happening again.

Downtown east incident has ponders me on why teenagers want to take risk of joining gangs and commit crimes?

Yes, I believe that most of these youth who joined gangs came from dysfunctional or broken families and their main reason might be to find a sense of belongings and achievement. They might felt neglected by their parents such that they do not feel any care, love and concern from them or they did badly in school and was bullied by their classmates.

All the above reasons can also be related to common youth crimes such as stealing, robbing and illegal smuggling. However, another reason might also be parents being too strict and over-protective towards their child and thus they would walk towards the wrong way and become rebellious. They might feel that this is the only way for their parents to know what they want, but some parents would turn out to control them more and cause their child behaviors would turn from bad to worst. Definitely schools can also be the reason that causes teenagers to rebel and commit crime; they might feel useless that they did badly in schools and their parents are always blaming on how lazy and stupid they are or maybe being influence by the bad company.

To prevent youth crime from increasing, educational institutions, law enforcement agencies, the social services sector, parents and youths themselves must all play a role. I feel and urge that it is necessary for parents and family members to play their part to prevent youths from turning to crime by paying more attention to their activities and the company they keep. If their child’s rebelling has reach an extreme limit till they are not able to control, I would suggest the only way is to send them for counseling.

Lastly, parents or teachers can also remind them about the severity of participating in illegal activities and intervene promptly should they display tell-tale signs of being under the influence of bad company.

Posted by Celena Liau

Labels: Downtown East gang fight

26 November 2010 @ 7:57 PM

Downtown East Murder

The gang fight at Downtown East was a inappropriate incident that happened in Singapore, which is also perceived by many as a safe country. The victim, Darren Ng was just a 19-year-old polytechnic student. It was such a shame for a teenager to pass on at such young age, moreover he was killed due to mere staring incident. The 4 men were charged for causing the death of Darren Ng may be sentenced to death.

I feel the government should implement stricter laws regarding unlawful assembly such as triad gangs. Those who were involved in unlawful activities should be counseled and place them under close supervision of the police. Hopefully, by doing so, it will bring the gangsters back to track and contribute the society positively.

It would also be possible to invite ex-gangsters to give a talk to teenagers about his/her experience as a gangster. The talk may include the risks they went through and consequences which cause their regret and also what caused them to turn over a new leaf.

By Evelyn

Labels: Downtown East gang fight

23 November 2010 @ 11:09 PM

These days, some people debate whether retain the British monarchy system or abolish.

In my opinion, British government would better retain their monarchy system.
I think that British monarchy is one of the important nation’s heritages of U.K.
Citizens of U.K have loved their monarchy for a long period and they’ve respect it so much.
Furthermore, many tourists from all around the world visit U.K to see them and the place like Buckingham palace.

Some people will argue that it costs a lot to retain monarchy system. And they will say the cost is covered from the taxes which citizen paid.
But, the revenue that can earn from monarchy system is more than that. It can earn more revenue to offset to retain monarchy system as well as increase their reputation.

I hope that British monarchy system can retain continuously.

posted by Minjeong (MJ)

Labels: British Monarchy

22 November 2010 @ 11:05 PM

Debates over British Monarchy

Britain is a constitutional monarchy ruled by Queen Elizabeth II, who ascended the throne as the eldest female in the absence of males.

British Monarchy is one that has survived for many years and is currently the longest lasting monarchy in the world. This is one of the reasons why people are in favor of it as it gives them pride in their country. British citizen are proud to be British. Another reason for keeping monarchy is that the Monarch is a national icon, an icon which cannot be replaced adequately by any other politician or personality. The Monarchy also brings in funding for Britain in the way of tourism. In my perspective, to keep monarchy due to the money it earns through tourism is a good idea because it is one of the biggest ways that Britain gains tourism funds.

On the other hand, to give British government more powerful democracy, monarchy should not continue. Having the monarchy has a negative effect on British and hinders certain aspects of social development. This counters the case for the monarchy that it has a positive affect on our country.

In conclusion, i feel that Monarchy should continue because it will not boost the confidence of citizens but also help generates revenue for British.

By Evelyn

Labels: British Monarchy

@ 10:00 PM

Should monarchy system been abolished?

A monarchy is a form of government in which political power is absolutely or nominally lodged with an individual, who is the head of state, often for life or until abdication, and "is wholly set apart from all other members of the state."The person who heads a monarchy is called a monarch. It was a common form of government in the world during the ancient and medieval times.

In 21^st century, monarchy countries like United Kingdom, Canada, and Japan had modified their political system from absolute monarchy to constitutional monarchy. Issue on abolishing the monarchy system has been bringing up with the marriage announcement of Prince William and Kate Middleton.

In my opinion, United Kingdom should retain as a monarchy country as it created uniqueness to the country itself. UK is known for several scenic locations such as Silverdale and Buckingham palace and it boasts of some very spectacular monuments like Stonehenge, which has great historical significance. Since the UK attracts a great number of tourists, it also opens doors for business opportunities for investors. The hospitality and tourism industry in the UK is one of the fastest growing industries and it promises great investment potentials.

I believe that British people will also refuse to be turned into clones so that every country is identical as they may like the fact that their country has its own culture and its own identity. It has been decades since people start to debate on the issue whether monarchy system should be abolished or not. To me, it highly depends on the British royal family and its people to decide whether to continue adopting monarchy system in long way. As an outsider, my opinion may not be 100% correct as I’m not the one who is working under monarchy system in their country. Until now, I believe that no one can clearly define what are the pros and cons of monarchy system towards a country or does it works well in the long run.

By Hui Min

Labels: British Monarchy

@ 7:56 PM

British Monarchy

The monarchy of the United Kingdom present monarch is non other than the Elizabeth ll. As part of the British monarchy, their roles is to undertake various official,ceremonial and representational duties. Usually,succession is governed by male-preference,which means the sons and elder children will inherit before daughters and younger ones respectively.

Although the British monarchy has been around for decades,the sensational question now is whether it should continue?Therefore to answer this we will have to first look into the advantages and disadvantages that it had brought or will bring to the country.

Firstly,some of the advantages are its rich culture which is something to be proud of.The history of the royal families can be use as a study materials for those interested.Next it also helps to generate revenue for the country through tourism.Many tourists from different parts of the world came all the way to UK to see and experience for themselves the historical sights.

Next,some of the disadvantages are the constant talk about how the royals are draining their people's resources and the heavy taxes that are imposed to the people.Furthermore the money were used for elaborate ceremonial celebrations which to some may not be that necessary.

Therefore to conclude whether we should abolish the British monarchy or not is not an easy decision to make.Its existence may be deem as good and also bad choice.It was stated that a large majority of the British public support the continuation of the monarchy.My suggestion is that it may not need to be abolish completely but it can undergo some kind of reformed.For instant is to spent the money collected wisely so that it will not aroused anger in some of the people.

In addition,something for us to look forward to is the wedding bells of Prince William and Kate Middleton in summer 2011.

Faridah

Labels: British Monarchy

21 November 2010 @ 7:21 PM

Should British Monarchy still continue?

British depend a lot on the monarchy which is the greatest symbol of a nation’s heritage and culture through-out the world. They are respected and well loved amongst the nation.

The royals’ families were born with responsibility and high expectations towards their citizens. They would strive to show a good role model in morale to ensure that they will receive trust and feedback from their citizens while also embracing their tradition and cultural identity. In my opinion, having Monarchy can be both negative and positive.

The pros are that Monarchy helps the country to gain revenue through boosting the tourist industry where many would have the thoughts of Britain being surrounded by palaces and grounds where the royal family lived. It would also help to turn every human childhood beliefs and curiosity of fairytales to realistic after they have saw the marching of the guards or took a glimpse of the queen in one of her royal palaces in England.

On the other hand, the cons of having Monarchy is that citizens have to pay their tax especially much more when they have grand events happening in their country such as recent case of the Prince William’s marriage occurring soon. Prince William’s marriage would cause more usage of funds from the country. These funds may be their own assets since they are the ones giving out money for their citizen’s salary. However, all these money are painfully earned by citizens and thus it may cause riots and chaos from the citizens.

I personally feel that it would be great to actually retained Monarchy system. These ensure that the peaceful image of fairytales would remain and exists in reality if not much monetary term is involved.

Posted by Celena

Labels: British Monarchy

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27 November 2010 @ 5:09 PM Fatal stabbing at Downtown East In 2010, 30 October, while people are celebrating Halloween, a staring incident happened in Downtown East which ended in a fatal attack on a Year 2 Republic Polytechnic student, Darren Ng. 4 were arrested 48 hours after the incident and charged with murder, age between 18 and 21 years old. Youth gang involvement is no longer a new phenomenon in Singapore. Gangs have been known to exist in Singapore since the early of 1970s. Few decades ago, gangs like "Sah Lak Kau", "303" gang, "Omega" gang and the "18 SYH" were well known in Singapore. Gangs are a violent reality that people have to deal with in today's cities. What has made these groups come about? Why do kids feel that being in a gang is both an acceptable and prestigious way to live? I believe that it cannot be explain by a few sentences nor it can be completely resolved by solutions. However, there are few ways we can do minimize the growth of gang involvement. Everything happens for a reason. Before we resolved the problem, we must figure out what it the reasons that contributed to youth gang involvement. There are a few reasons for youth involved in gang violence. One of it is youth are searching for love which they could not find in their family. Many teens do not join gangs because their friends do. Instead they join gangs in replacement for a family because they feel that gangs give them the support and love of a "real family". Also, it might be due to a family tradition that leads them to join gang. For instance, when a father himself involved in gang activities and is not able to provide a stable environment for his family, the child might follow the father's trail that leads to gang involvement. "The best place to begin is at the beginning of a child's life. Parents play an essential role in their children life. They might often feel that putting food on the table is enough love. Children of these families may often go to the gang due boredom and to achieve the sense of belonging. A better parental control is a key for gang prevention. Parents have the power to influence their children to be on the right track in their future. Parents have the responsibility for guiding them to the right track by having conversation like alcohol consumption, drug abuse, gang involvement with them will more or less helps them to understand the risks and the consequences of getting involved in such issue. Parents should understand that one of the main reasons youth choose to join gangs is because it offers them a sense of belonging and commitment. The family is essential to the development of the child's social, emotional and physical needs. If the family is the source of love, guidance, and protection that youths seek, they are not forced to search for these basic needs from a gang. In my opinion, recreational program such as sports, music, drama, and community activities help build a sense of self-worth and self-respect in young people. Youth are able to spend their free time wisely and meaningfully and their less likely to seek a membership in a gang which hang around at the shopping mall or void deck of HDB flats. Through joining those activities allow teens to express their feeling in a right way as well as learning skills for their sake. Also, school should organize conflict resolution campaign regularly in order to teach their students how to deal better with conflicts and help eliminate gang intimidation tactics. Gang members need to realize that gangs only bring a wasted future and certainly are no solution. Gang prevention should deal with the individual involved in order for them to have hope for a better life. By Hui Min Labels: Downtown East gang fight back to top?
@ 1:07 AM Can Youth Crimes be prevented? According to the Singapore police force statistic, Youth crime in Singapore has seen a general decrease over the years through various police enforcement and preventive actions. However the recent youth gang fight of fatal stabbing at Downtown East which is a very serious case since life at stake is involved unlike other youth crime of theft, steal or rob. This shows that the police preventing measure might not be effective and I would suggest police and government to come out with effective and efficiency measures to prevent more of such incidents from happening again. Downtown east incident has ponders me on why teenagers want to take risk of joining gangs and commit crimes? Yes, I believe that most of these youth who joined gangs came from dysfunctional or broken families and their main reason might be to find a sense of belongings and achievement. They might felt neglected by their parents such that they do not feel any care, love and concern from them or they did badly in school and was bullied by their classmates. All the above reasons can also be related to common youth crimes such as stealing, robbing and illegal smuggling. However, another reason might also be parents being too strict and over-protective towards their child and thus they would walk towards the wrong way and become rebellious. They might feel that this is the only way for their parents to know what they want, but some parents would turn out to control them more and cause their child behaviors would turn from bad to worst. Definitely schools can also be the reason that causes teenagers to rebel and commit crime; they might feel useless that they did badly in schools and their parents are always blaming on how lazy and stupid they are or maybe being influence by the bad company. To prevent youth crime from increasing, educational institutions, law enforcement agencies, the social services sector, parents and youths themselves must all play a role. I feel and urge that it is necessary for parents and family members to play their part to prevent youths from turning to crime by paying more attention to their activities and the company they keep. If their child’s rebelling has reach an extreme limit till they are not able to control, I would suggest the only way is to send them for counseling. Lastly, parents or teachers can also remind them about the severity of participating in illegal activities and intervene promptly should they display tell-tale signs of being under the influence of bad company. Posted by Celena Liau Labels: Downtown East gang fight back to top?
26 November 2010 @ 7:57 PM Downtown East Murder The gang fight at Downtown East was a inappropriate incident that happened in Singapore, which is also perceived by many as a safe country. The victim, Darren Ng was just a 19-year-old polytechnic student. It was such a shame for a teenager to pass on at such young age, moreover he was killed due to mere staring incident. The 4 men were charged for causing the death of Darren Ng may be sentenced to death. I feel the government should implement stricter laws regarding unlawful assembly such as triad gangs. Those who were involved in unlawful activities should be counseled and place them under close supervision of the police. Hopefully, by doing so, it will bring the gangsters back to track and contribute the society positively. It would also be possible to invite ex-gangsters to give a talk to teenagers about his/her experience as a gangster. The talk may include the risks they went through and consequences which cause their regret and also what caused them to turn over a new leaf. By Evelyn Labels: Downtown East gang fight back to top?
23 November 2010 @ 11:09 PM These days, some people debate whether retain the British monarchy system or abolish. In my opinion, British government would better retain their monarchy system. I think that British monarchy is one of the important nation’s heritages of U.K. Citizens of U.K have loved their monarchy for a long period and they’ve respect it so much. Furthermore, many tourists from all around the world visit U.K to see them and the place like Buckingham palace. Some people will argue that it costs a lot to retain monarchy system. And they will say the cost is covered from the taxes which citizen paid. But, the revenue that can earn from monarchy system is more than that. It can earn more revenue to offset to retain monarchy system as well as increase their reputation. I hope that British monarchy system can retain continuously. posted by Minjeong (MJ) Labels: British Monarchy back to top?
22 November 2010 @ 11:05 PM Debates over British Monarchy Britain is a constitutional monarchy ruled by Queen Elizabeth II, who ascended the throne as the eldest female in the absence of males. British Monarchy is one that has survived for many years and is currently the longest lasting monarchy in the world. This is one of the reasons why people are in favor of it as it gives them pride in their country. British citizen are proud to be British. Another reason for keeping monarchy is that the Monarch is a national icon, an icon which cannot be replaced adequately by any other politician or personality. The Monarchy also brings in funding for Britain in the way of tourism. In my perspective, to keep monarchy due to the money it earns through tourism is a good idea because it is one of the biggest ways that Britain gains tourism funds. On the other hand, to give British government more powerful democracy, monarchy should not continue. Having the monarchy has a negative effect on British and hinders certain aspects of social development. This counters the case for the monarchy that it has a positive affect on our country. In conclusion, i feel that Monarchy should continue because it will not boost the confidence of citizens but also help generates revenue for British. By Evelyn Labels: British Monarchy back to top?
@ 10:00 PM Should monarchy system been abolished? A monarchy is a form of government in which political power is absolutely or nominally lodged with an individual, who is the head of state, often for life or until abdication, and "is wholly set apart from all other members of the state."The person who heads a monarchy is called a monarch. It was a common form of government in the world during the ancient and medieval times. In 21^st century, monarchy countries like United Kingdom, Canada, and Japan had modified their political system from absolute monarchy to constitutional monarchy. Issue on abolishing the monarchy system has been bringing up with the marriage announcement of Prince William and Kate Middleton. In my opinion, United Kingdom should retain as a monarchy country as it created uniqueness to the country itself. UK is known for several scenic locations such as Silverdale and Buckingham palace and it boasts of some very spectacular monuments like Stonehenge, which has great historical significance. Since the UK attracts a great number of tourists, it also opens doors for business opportunities for investors. The hospitality and tourism industry in the UK is one of the fastest growing industries and it promises great investment potentials. I believe that British people will also refuse to be turned into clones so that every country is identical as they may like the fact that their country has its own culture and its own identity. It has been decades since people start to debate on the issue whether monarchy system should be abolished or not. To me, it highly depends on the British royal family and its people to decide whether to continue adopting monarchy system in long way. As an outsider, my opinion may not be 100% correct as I’m not the one who is working under monarchy system in their country. Until now, I believe that no one can clearly define what are the pros and cons of monarchy system towards a country or does it works well in the long run. By Hui Min Labels: British Monarchy back to top?
@ 7:56 PM British Monarchy The monarchy of the United Kingdom present monarch is non other than the Elizabeth ll. As part of the British monarchy, their roles is to undertake various official,ceremonial and representational duties. Usually,succession is governed by male-preference,which means the sons and elder children will inherit before daughters and younger ones respectively. Although the British monarchy has been around for decades,the sensational question now is whether it should continue?Therefore to answer this we will have to first look into the advantages and disadvantages that it had brought or will bring to the country. Firstly,some of the advantages are its rich culture which is something to be proud of.The history of the royal families can be use as a study materials for those interested.Next it also helps to generate revenue for the country through tourism.Many tourists from different parts of the world came all the way to UK to see and experience for themselves the historical sights. Next,some of the disadvantages are the constant talk about how the royals are draining their people's resources and the heavy taxes that are imposed to the people.Furthermore the money were used for elaborate ceremonial celebrations which to some may not be that necessary. Therefore to conclude whether we should abolish the British monarchy or not is not an easy decision to make.Its existence may be deem as good and also bad choice.It was stated that a large majority of the British public support the continuation of the monarchy.My suggestion is that it may not need to be abolish completely but it can undergo some kind of reformed.For instant is to spent the money collected wisely so that it will not aroused anger in some of the people. In addition,something for us to look forward to is the wedding bells of Prince William and Kate Middleton in summer 2011. *Faridah* Labels: British Monarchy back to top?
21 November 2010 @ 7:21 PM Should British Monarchy still continue? British depend a lot on the monarchy which is the greatest symbol of a nation’s heritage and culture through-out the world. They are respected and well loved amongst the nation. The royals’ families were born with responsibility and high expectations towards their citizens. They would strive to show a good role model in morale to ensure that they will receive trust and feedback from their citizens while also embracing their tradition and cultural identity. In my opinion, having Monarchy can be both negative and positive. The pros are that Monarchy helps the country to gain revenue through boosting the tourist industry where many would have the thoughts of Britain being surrounded by palaces and grounds where the royal family lived. It would also help to turn every human childhood beliefs and curiosity of fairytales to realistic after they have saw the marching of the guards or took a glimpse of the queen in one of her royal palaces in England. On the other hand, the cons of having Monarchy is that citizens have to pay their tax especially much more when they have grand events happening in their country such as recent case of the Prince William’s marriage occurring soon. Prince William’s marriage would cause more usage of funds from the country. These funds may be their own assets since they are the ones giving out money for their citizen’s salary. However, all these money are painfully earned by citizens and thus it may cause riots and chaos from the citizens. I personally feel that it would be great to actually retained Monarchy system. These ensure that the peaceful image of fairytales would remain and exists in reality if not much monetary term is involved. Posted by Celena Labels: British Monarchy back to top?

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